The Biblical Teaching of Modesty

Hello, and thank you for listening to the Testing the Spirits podcast. In this episode, I'm going to be talking about the subject of modesty. What does the Bible say about modesty and immodesty? Well, I think the go-to passage would have to be 1 Timothy 2, 8 -10, so let me start by reading that.

I desire, therefore, Paul says, that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands without wrath and doubting. So that's what's expected of the men. And in verse 9, in like manner also that the women adorn themselves in modest apparel with propriety and moderation, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly clothing, but which is proper for women professing godliness and good works.

Modesty in Worship and the Call to Proper Apparel

If I can summarize that, hey, don't, ladies, don't wear things that bring all this attention to yourself, because in the worship service, the attention is supposed to be on the Lord. And obviously, modesty applies to men as well, not just women.

And there's other passages we could look at, 1 Corinthians 12, Paul talks about those parts of the body that require more modesty. And this is something that I think we all understand. There are certain areas that need to be covered up.

But here's the thing, the biblical teaching of modesty, as we just saw, it's more than just not showing too much skin. And then there's the question of, okay, where's the line with that? What exactly qualifies as immodest or modest?

Defining Immodesty Beyond Skin Exposure

And this is a really contentious subject. If you bring it up, emotions tend to run high and certainly opinions. Everyone has an opinion on this. So the Bible teaches modesty. That's very clear. But how do you apply this?

Because that's the real question. Because it's one thing to say, yes, the Bible mentions it, it teaches it, okay, but how do you define it? How do we apply it to our lives? So let's just first cover the ways the scripture refers to modesty.

Not showing too much skin is the obvious thing that everyone thinks of. But it's also the way you wear your hair. Other things that you put on, jewelry, expensive clothing, really anything that draws attention.

So immodesty is more than just a short skirt. That's the point. Wearing a super expensive, this is for men, for wearing, if you were to wear a super expensive Armani suit, that could be considered immodest.

Or dyeing your hair blue or hot pink, as some people do these days. Or some other unnatural color. Walking into church dressed in such a way or doing something that just brings all this extra attention to yourself, that is considered to be immodest.

Anything like that, biblically, would fall under this category of immodest. Then there is also the commandment in Deuteronomy 22, verse 5, that men should not wear women's clothing and neither should women wear men's clothing.

In evangelical churches, men wearing women's clothes is still seen as unacceptable, but women wearing men's clothes, I do think there is starting to be a double standard. And really, what makes this so complicated is, how do you even define these things anymore?

What constitutes immodest? What constitutes a woman's garment? Clearly, we live in a gender-bending society. So all of those barriers or standards now, today, are being broken down. So because there isn't much of a standard anymore, certainly not in the culture, and then with the seeker-sensitive movement or churches in order to try to reach the world, they have become more like the world.

Because of all that, you can't even say anything anymore. Certainly a pastor can't preach on this anymore without someone accusing him of legalism. Not that this is legalistic, but that's what people will say.

And by the way, legalism is salvation through the law of Moses. Legalistic might be adding all these extra rules, and that's where you get into trouble when people are clearly dressing immodestly, and then you make rules.

Well, where's that rule in the Bible? Things can get complicated. So that's what makes this such a difficult subject. But when you see someone dressed immodestly, you know it. You know it when you see it.

Cultural Standards, Legalism, and Clothing Boundaries

So the old standard was basically, don't wear skin-tight clothes, don't expose your back, don't show any cleavage, don't wear anything so tight or short skirts that came above the knee. Basically, pastors used to point to Exodus 28, verse 42, where covering your thigh was called covering your nakedness.

So that was kind of the old standard. No cleavage, no showing your thigh, nothing that was too tight, and you couldn't have a shirt with no back. And even in the Catholic church, you couldn't wear, this is what I heard from a Catholic that a few decades ago, and this still might be the rule in some churches where your wedding dress, you couldn't show your shoulders.

So there were some pretty high standards when it came to clothing, but all of that today is just more or less gone. In some conservative churches, these standards are still there, but it's clearly the minority.

Typically, the way this is handled today, because it's such a touchy subject, people approach it in this way, they'll say, well, you know, I just think you need to leave this up to God. Well, that's always a safe, safe approach.

But let me read this article along those lines put out by the ministry Got Questions. They say that dressing modestly often requires us to check our motives. Are we dressing in a particular way to draw attention to ourselves or to feel superior to others, to engender jealousy in others, to incite lust out of idolatry?

If so, if these are our motives, we need to check our hearts and possibly change our clothes. It's also important to consider the cultural and situational context. For example, in the United States, it would be immodest to wear a ball gown to serve at a soup kitchen, but the same gown might be appropriate at a charity fundraising event.

Our clothes should demonstrate a right understanding of God, a right understanding of ourselves and respect for the people we are around. So that's what GotQuestions .org says, and I generally agree with their article.

But I noticed in their full article, they didn't really give too many specifics. And that's probably because the more specific you get, the more people will disagree. This is just one of those topics where opinions and emotions run high.

It's like clothing, music, and Bible translations. Those three things really get people going. Start expressing a conservative viewpoint on something like that, and people's heads explode. That's something I've noticed over the years.

Or as is often the case, when you talk about modesty, women kind of feel singled out. Because in most people's minds, and this may be true, but the issue of modesty, at least today, it's more of an issue for women, for females.

But it definitely, we have to say, it definitely applies to men as well. Men can also practice immodesty. So there's all sorts of viewpoints. Again, I remember a Catholic telling me about how you couldn't get married in the Catholic Church unless your wedding dress covered your complete back and your shoulders.

From your neck up, you were good, and you could show maybe your shins or your ankles. And then people say, well, what is this, the Christian version of the Taliban? Well, in some Muslim countries, this goes way too far, where showing your ankle is considered racy.

You've seen these Muslim outfits where the women cover up completely. They cover up their whole face, and they have this little, clearly Christianity doesn't have those type of rules and commandments.

It's a straw man argument. But the Bible does teach modesty, so how do you apply that? So yeah, there's the Catholic Church requiring very modest wedding dresses, and they have the right to do that. It's their denomination, their church, they have the right to have those standards, and I guess people have the right to say, we're going somewhere else.

Also in churches, I heard this years and years ago in Bible-believing churches, Baptist churches, there were people fighting over whether or not women should wear pants. You think, well, depending on your age, you're like, what was that, back in the 1800s?

No, that was back in the 1970s. So the point in bringing that up, clearly things have changed, and it's a challenge. It really is a challenge to talk about this, because there are no specific Bible verses that say, thou shalt not wear this, or thou shalt not reveal that, or this piece of clothing has to fall six inches below this body part.

We don't see that in the Scripture. And then when you point to a verse like Exodus, people say, well, that's not talking about modesty, it's out of context, and you're just going to get disagreement no matter what you say.

So where does that leave us? Well, again, the Bible clearly teaches modesty, and when you see immodesty, you know it when you see it. So in churches these days, what you often hear people say, well, it's the setting and the culture that dictates whether or not something is modest or immodest.

But really, do you want 21st century American culture to determine this? I don't think so. So the reason I'm doing this video is, number one, it's a biblical subject, so we're trying to teach the whole counsel of God.

Also, I realize this is one topic I haven't really addressed. I don't think I've ever addressed it on this channel, and if I've addressed it from the pulpit, it's been a long time. So I wanted to take this time to talk about this and look at what does the Bible say.

Christian Liberty, Gray Areas, and Pastoral Leadership

But again, you're going to get so much disagreement, I think it's helpful to just leave you with a few biblical principles. First, in Romans 14, Paul talks about Christian liberty and what people describe as gray areas.

And then he says, we don't want to cause our brother to stumble. So number one, I think it's best to err on the side of caution. If you think something might be considered immodest by someone else, it's best to err on the side of caution.

Don't wear something if you know somebody else thinks it's immodest, generally speaking. Number two, it's important to show a little grace. I might not agree with what people are doing, the low standard of today, but it's what people have been taught.

Certainly, culture and Hollywood and TV teaches or indoctrinates people into informing them of what they should wear and how they should carry themselves. Well, yeah, this is what people have been taught, and even Christians, you know, churches just don't talk about this.

So we have to consider people are a product of their upbringing. They're a product of their environment. So we need to be patient with people. And then third, everything rises or falls on leadership. So parents and church leaders really need to set the tone.

Those who are more mature in the faith should gently direct and admonish those who don't understand. And as with anything, we must constantly reinforce this idea that the Word of God is the authority.

Once that is established, then you can show how the scripture teaches modesty. And then it's the job of the Holy Spirit to bring that conviction. So men and women who are mature in the faith need to set the example.

And hopefully after some time, things will start to turn around. One last thing, if you are currently attending a church where immodesty is everywhere and the pastor and the church leadership just doesn't care about this issue, or if you bring it up to them and they treat you like you're the problem, yeah, it's best to just leave and go somewhere else.

Because bad doctrine and bad practice are always connected. So I hope this was helpful. Until next time, may the Lord be with you and have a great day.